Wellesley’s Bob Lubker honored for WWII action

Thursday

May 31, 2007 at 12:01 AMMay 31, 2007 at 2:20 PM

The town of Wellesley is now home to a knight. In a damp, cool outdoor ceremony on May 19, Wellesley resident Bob Lubker was honored with the Knights Cross of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction.

Lubker, who participated in the D-Day landings at Utah Beach on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, was honored, along with 15 other American World War II veterans, at the ceremony on Boston Common, for his service to the French Republic.

Samantha Fields, Townsman Staff

The town of Wellesley is now home to a knight. In a damp, cool outdoor ceremony on May 19, Wellesley resident Bob Lubker was honored with the Knights Cross of the Legion of Honor, France’s highest distinction.

Lubker, who participated in the D-Day landings at Utah Beach on June 6, 1944, in Normandy, France, was honored, along with 15 other American World War II veterans, at the ceremony on Boston Common, for his service to the French Republic.

“[The cross of the Legion of Honor] remains the most prestigious of French decorations,” newly inaugurated French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote in a message to the veterans that was read at the ceremony. “That is why I am very happy that today the French Republic is honoring your fight 60 years ago by bestowing upon you this distinguished cross, whose red ribbon so strikingly evokes the color of the blood spilled for honor and freedom. France will never forget the men — often very young — who willingly made the supreme sacrifice to liberate our soil, our homeland and our continent from the yoke of Nazi barbarism and its frenzy of murder… To each and every one of you, let me repeat that France has not forgotten you, you who as American soldiers incarnated honor and freedom.”

The National Order of “La Legion D’Honneur,” founded in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte, is awarded to both civilians and military personnel who have distinguished themselves through valor, according to the French Consulate. Honorees are named by a decree signed by the President of the Republic, and past recipients include Edith Wharton and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Lubker, who will turn 89 this July, was commissioned an Ensign in the U.S. Navy in January of 1943 and served with the 81st Naval Construction Battalion, known as the Seabees, in England and France until October of 1944. He was awarded the Bronze Star by Admiral Harold Stark for his participation in the D-Day assault at Utah Beach. The Bronze Star citation he received reads, in part, “Lieutenant (junior grade) Lubker was in charge of beaching all ferries during the action. Despite repeated enemy air attacks and intermittent shelling he succeeded in successfully directing the beachings during D-Day, establishing liaison with the Beach Battalion under the Assault Commander and during the entire period was indispensable in the maintenance of an efficient unloading schedule.

“The professional ability and devotion to duty shown by Lieutenant (junior grade) Lubker on this occasion were in keeping with the best traditions of the United States naval service.”

After the D-Day attacks, Lubker served on Utah Beach throughout the summer of 1944, participating in various necessary construction projects with the 81st, before returning to the United States in October of that year. In January of 1945, he was sent to the Pacific, where he served with the 53rd US Naval Construction Battalion until the war ended. He continued to serve in the Naval Reserves until 1978, when he retired as a captain.

The 50-year Wellesley resident, who has Parkinson’s disease, made it to the ceremony on the 19th, despite a recent month-long hospital stay. “Someone said to me, you can accept the medal for him,” said Carolyn, his wife of nearly 64 years. “I said, oh, no, I want to see him out there again and walking. We held [the ceremony] in front of him like a carrot… he realizes the importance of the medal… and he wanted to be there, even if he had to be in a wheelchair.” And he was. In full Naval uniform, Lubker received the Knight’s Cross of the Legion of Honor with his wife, three sons, Jay, Tom and Rob, his grandson, Scott, and his sister, Jeanne Conour, of Virginia, looking on.

It was a wonderful ceremony, Carolyn said, and her husband was proud and happy to be there. “He laughed and smiled and he really enjoyed very much being at the ceremony and being with the other veterans,” she said. “It’s such a beautiful medal,” she said of the Knights Cross, which is currently displayed on her husband’s uniform. “I think it’s going to be very hard to put it in a box..”

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.